1997/729 18 September 1997
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UNITED NATIONS A S General Assembly Distr. Security Council GENERAL A/52/375 S/1997/729 18 September 1997 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH GENERAL ASSEMBLY SECURITY COUNCIL Fifty-second session Fifty-second year Agenda item 49 REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE PROSECUTION OF PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR SERIOUS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW COMMITTED IN THE TERRITORY OF THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA SINCE 1991 Note by the Secretary-General The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the members of the General Assembly and to the members of the Security Council the fourth annual report of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, submitted by the President of the International Tribunal in accordance with article 34 of its statute (see S/25704 and Corr.1, annex) which states: "The President of the International Tribunal shall submit an annual report of the International Tribunal to the Security Council and to the General Assembly." 97-24915 (E) 171097 /... A/52/375 S/1997/729 English Page 2 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 7 August 1997 Your Excellencies, I have the honour to submit the fourth annual report of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, dated 7 August 1997, to the Security Council and the General Assembly, pursuant to article 34 of the statute of the Tribunal. Please accept, Excellencies, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration. (Signed) Antonio CASSESE President President of the General Assembly President of the Security Council United Nations United Nations New York, NY 10017 New York, NY 10017 United States of America United States of America /... A/52/375 S/1997/729 English Page 3 FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE PROSECUTION OF PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR SERIOUS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW COMMITTED IN THE TERRITORY OF THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA SINCE 1991 SUMMARY The fourth annual report of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia covers the activities of the Tribunal during the period from 1 August 1996 to 31 July 1997. The first Judges elected to serve at the Tribunal have almost completed their four-year terms and new Judges have been elected by the General Assembly to serve the next term. In the nearly four years that the Tribunal has been in existence, a great deal has been accomplished. The Tribunal has evolved from a resolution of the Security Council into a fully functioning court, with one trial and two sentencing procedures completed, two trials under way and three more trials scheduled. In the period from 1 August 1996 to 31 July 1997 the Trial Chambers have been busy with the Tadic´ , Erdemovic´ , C elebic´ i and Blaškic´ cases. In the Tadic´ case, the accused was found guilty on a number of counts involving crimes against humanity and war crimes, and not guilty on several other counts, and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. The accused in the Erdemovic´ case, who pleaded guilty to one count of crimes against humanity, was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment by the Chamber. The accused in these two cases have appealed the judgements of the trial chambers. The C elebic´ i and Blaškic´ trials are still under way. Three additional indictees have been arrested by Croatia, the United Nations Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) and the Stabilization Force (SFOR), respectively, and delivered to the Tribunal's Detention Unit, where they are awaiting trial. The Appeals Chamber, likewise, has been occupied with the appeal lodged in the Erdemovic´ case, as well as with numerous applications for leave to appeal against decisions of the Trial Chambers. The Appeals Chamber has also been seized of appeals lodged in the Tadic´ case by both the Prosecutor and the accused, the hearings in which will take place later in 1997. The Office of the Prosecutor has continued with its dual roles of investigating violations of international humanitarian law and of prosecuting cases of such violations in court before the Trial and Appeals Chambers. While it has not submitted any new indictments for public confirmation during the year under review, a number of non-disclosed indictments have been submitted for confirmation. Two such indictments led to the apprehension of two indictees by international forces in the former Yugoslavia. Meanwhile, the field investigations of the Office have continued, including the exhumation of mass graves in the former Yugoslavia, which has unfortunately been hampered by funding and other problems. /... A/52/375 S/1997/729 English Page 4 The Registry of the Tribunal comprises a Judicial Department and an Administrative Department. The former has continued to provide support to the Chambers and Office of the Prosecutor to enable them to function, besides drafting and adapting legal texts suited to its work. The Administrative Department has undergone expansion in order to cope with the increasing demands placed on it by the increased staff and activity of the other organs of the Tribunal, in particular the Office of the Prosecutor. The Tribunal has achieved a great deal in the past four years, but it has not yet achieved the "critical mass" necessary to ensure success in its mission of bringing justice to the former Yugoslavia for the atrocities such as mass killings, rape and "ethnic cleansing" in all its manifestations, which were committed in the war and which were the reason for the establishment of the Tribunal. Notwithstanding this, a turning point was reached with the momentous arrests by UNTAES and SFOR of two indictees in July 1997. Those arrests are very welcome and it is hoped that such efforts at apprehension of accused persons will continue to be made by SFOR and other bodies. Nevertheless, certain States and entities in the former Yugoslavia, namely, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Republika Srpska and the Bosnian Croat authorities, continue stubbornly to refuse to arrest indictees. The international community must therefore put unceasing pressure on those non-cooperative parties to meet their international obligations to cooperate with the Tribunal. The de facto immunity from prosecution that a large number of indictees are currently enjoying in the former Yugoslavia as a result of this lack of cooperation is a direct challenge to the United Nations, and to the international community in general. /... A/52/375 S/1997/729 English Page 5 CONTENTS Paragraphs Page I. INTRODUCTION ......................................... 1 - 7 9 Part one MAIN ACTIVITIES OF THE TRIBUNAL TO DATE II. THE CHAMBERS ......................................... 8 - 57 10 A. Composition of the Chambers ...................... 8 - 10 10 B. Judicial action .................................. 11 - 55 11 1. Judicial orders .............................. 12 - 16 11 2. The Erdemovic´ case ........................... 17 - 19 12 3. The Tadic´ trial .............................. 20 - 30 12 4. The C elebic´ i trial ........................... 31 - 38 15 5. The Blaškic´ trial ............................ 39 - 45 16 6. The Aleksovski case .......................... 46 17 7. The Dokmanovic´ case .......................... 47 - 48 18 8. The Kovac´ evic´ case ........................... 49 18 9. Amicus curiae ................................ 50 - 52 18 10. Interlocutory appeals ........................ 53 - 54 19 11. Rule 61 proceedings .......................... 55 19 C. Regulatory activity .............................. 56 - 57 20 1. Amendments to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence ..................................... 56 20 2. Amendments to other Tribunal rules and regulations .................................. 57 20 III. THE OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTOR ......................... 58 - 76 20 A. Overview: investigations, prosecutions and arrests .......................................... 58 - 60 20 B. Appointment of a new Prosecutor .................. 61 21 /... A/52/375 S/1997/729 English Page 6 CONTENTS (continued) Paragraphs Page C. Activities related to investigations ............. 62 - 71 21 1. Establishment of field offices ............... 63 21 2. Investigations into mass grave sites and exhumations (1996) ........................... 64 - 67 21 3. Investigations into mass grave sites and exhumations (1997) ........................... 68 22 4. Cooperation with Implementation Force/ Stabilization Force and other organizations in the former Yugoslavia ........................ 69 23 5. Development of prosecution and investigation strategies ................................... 70 - 71 23 D. Activities related to evidence collection ........ 72 - 74 23 E. "Rules of the Road" .............................. 75 - 76 24 IV. THE REGISTRY ......................................... 77 - 131 24 A. Judicial Department .............................. 78 - 99 25 1. Court management and support services ........ 78 - 81 25 2. Defence counsel .............................. 82 - 89 25 3. Detention Unit ............................... 90 - 92 27 4. Victims and Witnesses Unit ................... 93 - 99 27 B. Administration ................................... 100 - 118 28 1. Budget and finance ........................... 100 - 103 28 2. Personnel .................................... 104 - 107 29 3. Translation .................................